Today's News

OCEAN ISLE BEACH—An afternoon barbecue almost turned deadly on Wednesday, May 18, for the Washam family.

Lee Washam and his wife, Karen Hubbard, owners of Second Street Bar and Grill, were preparing for a cookout for their grandson’s first birthday at their Ocean Isle Beach home when the unthinkable happened.

“We had been out shopping at Home Depot,” Hubbard said. “We had just gotten home and set up two chairs beside the cooker. We were getting ready to relax.”

SHALLOTTE—A distressed phone call from a “grandchild” led one Shallotte resident through a whirlwind scam that cheated her out of more than $3,300. She wants others to hear her story so they won’t be caught in the same trap.

“I am not going to run scared,” said Alice May Bookout, two days after she fell victim to a scam. “I think people need to know so it doesn’t happen to them.”

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Team is a support unit, whose primary functions are traffic enforcement and assisting in the apprehension of drug traffickers in the county.

SUNSET BEACH—Residents opposed to a town plan to shell out more than $2 million for a 5.22-acre waterway site for a future park are expected to converge on town council’s upcoming monthly meeting Monday night.

“I encourage everyone to attend the meeting and give their views whether they want [the park] or not,” Sunset Beach resident Herb Tinger said. “Hopefully, town council will listen to a majority of people who still think they ought to do a public referendum, given this is a lot of money for a discretionary purpose.”